The Miami Dolphins have faced quite a bit of adversity during Adam Gase’s brief tenure as the team’s head coach, and have handled it well, rallying back from a 1-4 start last season to qualify for the playoffs.

Miami’s resiliency is why Gase didn’t seem concerned Wednesday about the team experiencing a hangover from Hurricane Irma as the Dolphins returned to practice in preparation for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers, which will be the team’s first game of the season.

“Some of the challenges we met last year, and going into this year, everything hasn’t always been smooth,” said Gase, who is referring to Miami losing three starters to season-ending injuries during the preseason. “They battle, and fight, and handle adversity as good as any [team] I’ve been around.”

That fight begun last Wednesday when the NFL decided to reschedule last week’s season opener at Hard Rock Stadium against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Nov. 19, which happened to be the bye week for both teams.

After that decision came down half the team left the state, and so did Gase and many of his assistant coaches.

Once it was decided that the Dolphins would spend the week in Los Angeles following Hurricane Irma, and that family members of the coaches and players would accompany the team on a charter paid for by Dolphins owner Steve Ross, the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams assisted the team’s transition to California.

The Miami Dolphins’ newest linebacker, who has been brought along slowly since being signed three weeks ago, strained his hamstring and will be held out of practice for the next few days.

Maualuga, an...

Rey Maualuga’s journey to get himself back into football shape just took a unexpected detour.

The Miami Dolphins’ newest linebacker, who has been brought along slowly since being signed three weeks ago, strained his hamstring and will be held out of practice for the next few days.

Maualuga, an...

(Omar Kelly)

The Dolphins are using the Cowboys’ practice facility at Oxnard, California. And the Rams staff helped the coaching and auxiliary staff set up the hotel Miami’s staying at, getting it as close to the facility as possible.

The entire hotel lobby of a Residence Inn is set up as the team’s headquarters. A tennis court has been transformed into the team’s weight room, and the hotel has been filled with Dolphins players, coaches, auxiliary staff and their family members. The Dolphins will prepare for Sunday’s game in Oxnard before leaving for Los Angeles, which is located 90 minutes away, after Friday’s practice.

Numerous players compared the remote setup to Miami’s west coast trip last season, where the Dolphins practiced in Carlsbad, California for a week between November games against the Chargers and Rams.

“This is like training camp essentially. That’s where our mindset is. Everyone is together. We meet together, eat together. There’s nowhere for anyone to go,” said quarterback Jay Cutler. “It’s a good experience for us.”

In addition, the Dolphins have partnered with AARP Foundation on a dollar for dollar matching campaign, with 100 percent of the money raised going directly into...

(Omar Kelly)

Cutler said the Dolphins were ready to play the Buccaneers last Thursday and Friday because the game-plan was in, and the team was looking sharp in practice before that game got pushed back. While Cutler acknowledged that Wednesday’s practice wasn’t super sharp, he feels the rust of not practicing for week can easily be worked off.

“This is a resilient group. We’ll battle through,” Cutler said.

Miami’s coaches didn’t begin preparing for the Chargers until Saturday, but Gase said the Dolphins benefit from seeing the Chargers’ Monday night loss to the Denver Broncos.

Gase’s message to the team has been, “control what you can control,” which means to minimize the distraction caused by being displaced, and focus on football and the lasting impact of Hurricane Irma.

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Sun Sentinel's Omar Kelly and CBS 12's Matt Lincoln recap the Dolphins' Monday night victory over the Patriots and preview the next game against the Buffalo Bills.

Sun Sentinel's Omar Kelly and CBS 12's Matt Lincoln recap the Dolphins' Monday night victory over the Patriots and preview the next game against the Buffalo Bills.

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Sun Sentinel's Omar Kelly and CBS 12's Matt Lincoln recap the Dolphins' Monday night victory over the Patriots and preview the next game against the Buffalo Bills.

Sun Sentinel's Omar Kelly and CBS 12's Matt Lincoln recap the Dolphins' Monday night victory over the Patriots and preview the next game against the Buffalo Bills.

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Sun Sentinel's Omar Kelly and CBS 12's Matt Lincoln answer questions during a live Q&A session with viewers ahead of the Miami Dolphins' game vs. the Buffalo Bills.

Sun Sentinel's Omar Kelly and CBS 12's Matt Lincoln answer questions during a live Q&A session with viewers ahead of the Miami Dolphins' game vs. the Buffalo Bills.

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Sun Sentinel's Omar Kelly and CBS 12's Matt Lincoln discuss what changed in the last two weeks of practice that helped the Dolphins defeat the Patriots.

Sun Sentinel's Omar Kelly and CBS 12's Matt Lincoln discuss what changed in the last two weeks of practice that helped the Dolphins defeat the Patriots.

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Sun Sentinel's Omar Kelly and CBS 12's Matt Lincoln talk about Dolphins running back Kenyan Drake and more in a round of True or False.

Sun Sentinel's Omar Kelly and CBS 12's Matt Lincoln talk about Dolphins running back Kenyan Drake and more in a round of True or False.

Returning to practice has provided many Dolphins players a necessary distraction from what’s taking place in South Florida.

“It’s just having an opportunity to take my mind off a little bit of what’s going on back home in Florida and focus on what’s important out here,” said defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. “Obviously we’re not worried about football and taking care of that stuff. Obviously the real world hits hard, but it is part of life.

Some players believe their game on Sunday, and their performance against the Chargers will provide South Florida a necessary distraction.

“We play for South Florida every Sunday. We have Miami going across the jersey,” said cornerback Walt Aikens, a special teams ace. “It’s tough right now. We were just going through the same thing for Houston and for us to turn around and now it’s on us, it’s kind of a big shot, a big deal. We just have to stick together as a community and pull through this together.”

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While media and fans are speculating about the Miami Dolphins' playoff chances, coach Adam Gase is trying to keep the focus on this week's game vs. Buffalo.

While media and fans are speculating about the Miami Dolphins' playoff chances, coach Adam Gase is trying to keep the focus on this week's game vs. Buffalo.

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While media and fans are speculating about the Miami Dolphins' playoff chances, coach Adam Gase is trying to keep the focus on this week's game vs. Buffalo.

While media and fans are speculating about the Miami Dolphins' playoff chances, coach Adam Gase is trying to keep the focus on this week's game vs. Buffalo.